Dungeons and Dragons
by Arouria
Summary: Six year old Natsu Dragneel has it rough. Not only has his dad disappeared, but apparently the magic he taught him is outlawed and any use of it is considered treason. Way to leave out the details, Dad. Now Natsu's only hope lies in a half-crack ice mage, an amnesic demon, a key, and the weird blonde girl who kinda-sorta smells like starlight and fairy dust. Yep. He's screwed.
1. He Always Leaves Out the Details

The first time he met her, he was six years old.

She was crouched down outside his cell, hands wrapped carefully around her delicate knees. The girl peered at him with wide, brown eyes from the small, iron-barred window that glimpsed the outside world; the sky, the grass, and now, the strange little girl who's scent washed over him in a calming aroma. She smelled like starlight and fairy dust.  
The little girl flashed him a brilliant smile and lifted a hand from her knee in a wave,

"Hi, I'm Lucy, why are you crying?"

* * *

**-six hours earlier-**

'Let's see..right now I should be in Acalypha.. I think?' The young boy tried to make sense of the piece of parchment he held in his hands, turning it this way and that to try and pin-point his location. He narrowed his eyes at the scribbles decorating the paper and gave a low growl, as if it would scare the scratches into readable words.

With a huff he finally gave up and shoved the map back into his bag. Instead he resorted to his excellent sense of smell to dictate where he was. Lifting his head, he took in a deep breath as he let the scents of his surroundings flood his mind.

He could smell… people. Lots of people. 'Well duh.' He thought to himself, 'I'm in the middle of a freaking town, man people have so many different scents, how does it not give them a headache, living so close together like this? Well, whatever, moving on.' The boy reaped in his thoughts as he let more and more scents drift across his nose, so many his own head started to ache, 'Ugh, this isn't working out so well…' He was about the pinch his nose shut when suddenly a new scent hit him. The boy flung his eyes open as the intoxicating scent filled his mind. He took a in a deep whiff, it smelled a lot like.… "Food!" the boy said aloud, causing a few heads to turn his way. He paid no notice, however, as he took off in the direction of the delicious smell.

He passed several buildings, none which he paid any mind to. They didn't smell like food after all. After his mad dash through the town's narrow streets, he finally came upon the source of the intoxicating smell.

In front of him stood a bakery, he concluded. It's name hung in the chicken-sctrach looking scribbles that also adorned the map he had found earlier that week. What's with this weird language anyways? It was nothing like the runes Igneel had taught him to read. Natsu quickly dismissed the thought and instead pressed his tiny forehead up against the glass window display. Breads, pastries, desserts, and other creations his limited vocabulary had no name for decorated the many display shelves.

Natsu couldn't help notice the hollow growling sound his stomach emitted at the sight of all the food. He was pretty sure he was drooling too. Suddenly a bell clanged and a door flew open, and he whipped his head in the direction of the sound. A gruff looking woman with wiry brown hair and a rolling pin in her hands stood in the doorframe. She raised and lowered the rolling pin from her palm as she glared at the pink-haired boy.

"You need somethin' boy?" She said in a rough tone that Natsu noted sounded anything but feminine. He took a step back, a bit intimidated by the woman's hard glare. 'You're a dragon Natsu! Dragons aren't scared of weird ladies with rolling pins!' He squirmed a bit under her gaze, 'Even if they do look really scary!' He added silently.

He managed to straighten himself up and look the lady in the eye, "Theres, uh, food here, right?" He said intelligently as his stomach made an audible growl. The boy blushed a bit as he averted his gaze. At this Natsu noticed the woman's eyes soften a bit, "Oh a hungry customer are you? Well come on then, in you go."

She ushered the boy inside before he could say otherwise, her rolling pin making a shooing motion from behind his back. He turned to say something to the woman, but as he opened his mouth, a hundred different scents flooded over him. Damn. If he thought the store had smelled good from the outside, the inside had him wondering if he'd died and found himself in heaven. He quickly clamped his mouth shut before he could start drooling again.

The woman from earlier moved to behind a stone counter, and Natsu took note of the little tables and chairs that dotted the room. Each table was filled with chattering people enjoying the many goodies the bakery had to offer. A couple sat at a table for two, next to them a large round table held six or so men who were chatting away excitedly about something Natsu couldn't pick up, a group of three teenish-looking kids sat next to them, and so on.

Natsu soon became bored with observing his surroundings and instead walked up to the stone counter the lady from earlier stood behind. He silently cursed his shortness as he barley managed to peek over the countertop. He curled his tiny hands around the counter's edge and stood on his tip-toes in an attempt to look a little taller. He looked up at the older woman only to see her smiling down at him. He squirmed a bit and didn't know if he should feel relieved or terrified.

"What can I get for you today little boy?" She asked in a slightly-less gruff tone then before. Natsu couldn't help it, he found himself smiling happily back at the older lady, who's eyes softened at his childish grin. He could just see the stacks of bread and pastries behind her, he hastily pointed a finger at a stack of bread, "Can I have one of those?" He asked innocently, head spinning at the though of food. The woman gave a curt nod and stuck out her hand, "That will be 300 jewels."

Natsu froze. What the heck were jewels? You needed jewels for food? Igneel had always just brought him food from who-knows where, or they'd gone fishing or something.. Igneel had mentioned places like bakeries and restaurants could provide food, but not that you had to trade something for it! 'Damnit Igneel' The little boy cursed his father silently, 'you always left out the important stuff!'

The boy let out a heavy sigh, "Oh, um, sorry, I don't think I have any of those." He released his grip on the counter and turned away sadly, his stomach growled in protest, it wasn't a fan of his decision. Behind the counter, the woman's heart tightened at the little boy's miserable state,

"Wait! Boy, come here." Natsu's head perked as he turned back towards the counter, the woman's hand was outstretched towards him as she beckoned him back towards her. He looked up at the lady again sadly, "I don't have any jewels or whatever, sorry…" The lady shook her head at him, "I think we burned some bread earlier this morning, I'll be right back." The lady turned and disappeared into the back as Natsu stood in wonder at the counter. The lady returned once again with a blackened loaf of bread in her hands, she held it out to the boy, "This is all I can give you I'm afraid, some jewels could have bought you a nicely baked piece but…" Natsu's eyes widened and he took the loaf from the woman' s hands,

"Seriously?! This is awesome! I'll take burned food over 'nicely baked' anyday!" He was practically squealing in joy as the woman looked down at him in confusion, "You like burned food?" Natsu tore his eyes from the bread and looked up at her, "Yeah, don't you?" The woman gave a light chuckle at his honest innocence, "No, I can't say I do."

Natsu gave a quick look around to see if anyone was listening before leaning in towards the woman, he put a hand to the side of his mouth like he was about to tell a secret, "Don't tell anyone, but it's probably because I'm actually a fire dragon." He flashed a fanged smile at the woman and she smiled right back, "Of course you are boy, now hurry along before my husband finds out I've been giving away bread again!" She made a shooing motion towards the door and Natsu began to take off, "Thanks again Mrs. Baker Lady!" The woman laughed as he took off through the door.

He had only made it a couple of steps out the door, however, before he ran smack into an older man, causing his bread to fly out of his hands, and right into a nearby fountain. Natsu stared in horror in the direction of the fountain.

"Hey, watch where you're going you punk." The older man growled, his eyes narrowed in annoyance. Natsu was equally annoyed, this guy had just made him lose his first meal in like two days!  
"You watch it," He growled right back, looking up to peer into the man's cold, slanted eyes.  
"You better watch your mouth if you don't wanna get what's coming to ya brat." The man spat back. Natsu's good mood was now thoroughly trampled as his eyes narrowed, he couldn't believe the nerve of this guy!  
"You wanna go old man?" He hissed.

The man balked at him, "You can't be serious, a little punk like you challenging me? Do you even know who you're talking to?" The older man sneered in disbelief.  
"No and I don't really care either," Natsu answered honestly, sliding himself into a fighting stance.  
"You brat," The older man seethed, "I'm the Salamander! The strongest mage this town has to offer, and now, you're gonna get it!" The man pulled his fist back and brought it down to strike the child, but his target was to fast.

In an instant, Natsu had launched himself in the air, only to land gracefully right on top of his attacker's outstretched arm. For a split second he perched there, the man gawking at the boy's almost inhuman speed. Then, Natsu bunched his muscles and lept off the man's arm, the force of his jump caused the 'Salamander' as he called himself, to lose his balance and flail uselessly before crashing into the ground. Natsu flipped seamlessly midair and landed smoothly behind the man, laughing at how utterly ridiculous his attacker looked face-down in the dirt. The older man, on the other hand, was fuming in rage.

He quickly pushed himself up off the ground as the look in his eyes changed from rage to a chilling murderous intent. The young boy felt a flash of fear in his heart from the look of pure evil that lurked in the man's dark eyes. He quickly shrugged it off as the man came at him again, fist outstretched,"You're dead now boy!" Suddenly the older man's body erupted into flames, and Natsu's eyes widened, "You're a fire mage!? Sweet!" The man threw his fiery punch in Natsu's direction, but the young boy effortlessly dodged the blow once again, a huge grin plastered across his features. The older mage was seething at his cocky attitude.

He threw punch after punch, all of which Natsu dodged with little effort. The older man smirked as and idea came to him, this boy was only a child after all, "Hey! Look over there!" He called, pointing a finger off to the right. Natsu's head instantly snapped in the direction he pointed, "Huh?" He suddenly felt himself flying backwards as one of the older mage's punches finally hit.

The older mage stood triumphantly a few feet away from the boy, who was still regaining his balance from the blow. A dangerous glint sparked in the older man's dark eyes, "It's over for you boy, I'll teach you to mess with a mage." The older man suddenly spread his arms wide, a magic seal appearing in front of him, glowing red with power. The Salamander aimed himself at the young boy, who had just begun to stand again. The spectators that had gathered to watch the heated fight gasped in horror, "Say goodbye boy! **Prominence Typhoon**!" A column of flames twisted towards the young boy, engulfing him in it's fiery masses.

Witnesses shrieked, sure that the poor boy could never have survived the attack. The Salamander grinned wickedly, it was over.

Or so he had thought.

Suddenly, the flames began to spiral inwards, growing smaller and smaller as it did. The spectators looked on in wonder. Finally, the flames parted to revel a small figure, unscathed by the blazing fire around him. The Salamander froze in shock, was this boy.. eating his flames?!

Natsu's head was tilted upwards, his onyx eyes closed in delight. A loud sucking sound escaped him as the last of the flames twirled their way down into the young boy's mouth. As he finished, he lowered his head, wiped his moth with the back of his hand, and gave his rounded stomach a satisfied pat. "Man your flames taste like shit." He commented, still patting his exposed stomach, "But hey, a meal's a meal, thanks anyways." His eyes glinted in a feral expression, fangs bared in widening grin,  
"And now, I'll take the liberty of kicking your ass for ruining my breakfast!"

The boy took a step towards the other fire mage, flames beginning to twist their way around his tiny body. The Salamander managed to recover from his initial shock, only to point a shaking finger at the fire-clad boy, "Y-you! You're a d-dragon slayer!" Natsu flashed another fanged grin at the man, eyes narrowed in feral power, "Bingo, dipstick, but knowing that isn't going to do you much good now." Natsu put his fists to his mouth and took in a steady breath, the flames around his body burned ever brighter, "**Fire Dragon's**.…" Fire began to spiral at his mouth, he flung open his eyes, only to revel they were now a beastly green. He smirked and released the breath he had been gathering, "..**ROAR**!"

A pillar of golden-red flames shot itself at the older mage, who had once again frozen in schock, he gave an undignified screech as the flames engulfed him, "_EEEEEEEEYYAAA_ HOT HOT HOOOOTTT!" Through the flames the supposed 'fire' mage flailed his hand in the air, "Help! I'm on fire!"

By the time the flames had vanished, the other mage was burned to a crisp, face first in the dirt, butt in the air. Natsu roared in laughter as the flames around him disappeared. The 'Salamander' coughed as a trail of smoke drifted from his open mouth, "I'll.. get you.. *cough* for this *wheeze*.. you damned kid!"

Natsu was still laughing so hard there were tears in his eyes, he had fallen to the floor in a laughing fit, hands in the air above him, "Ahahah! You look so dumb! And the look on your face! 'Y-you're a dragon slayer?' " He mocked in a false tone, a hysteric look on his young face. He stood from the ground, still laughing, and gave a satisfied stretch.  
His laughter suddenly died, however, when he felt two cold metal bands curl around his slender wrists.

"What the.." He looked up behind him, only to see the six men he'd seen in the bakery looking down at him with solum faces. Natsu tugged his hands down, only to find he couldn't. The cuffs around his wrists attached to a rather long, sturdy chain that one of the six men held with a death grip in his hands. Natsu's eyes hardened,

"What the hell? Let me go!" He yanked against the chain and willed fire to his fists, only to find his magic instantly deflate within him. His eyes widened, "Wha..?" He tried again and again to spark his fire, but to no avail. He whipped his head to the men behind him and snarled, "What did you do!?"

The six men didn't even flinch as the young dragon slayer thrashed against them, "What the hell did you do!?" He roared again, unable to writhe his way out of the cuffs iron grip. One man looked down on him, Natsu realized he was the one who had placed the cuffs on him in the first place,

"Fire Dragon Slayer, you are under arrest for treason against the kingdom."

* * *

Hi there everyone! This is my first fanfic, so please bare with me through my many mistakes!

I was informed that the story was a bit hard to follow, so I broke up this chapter and the next in an attempt to make it a little easier to understand.

Thank you for putting up with me and I hope you'll continue to follow the story!

Reviews make my world go round~


	2. Dealing With Princesses

**Hello all! In a review I was told that the story was a little hard to follow, and I have to say I agree. So, in an attempt to make life a little easier, I did a bit of rearranging and came up with this.** **Please continue to inform me of ways to make my stories better! I love it!**

**Thank you so much for your reviews and putting up with my consent mistakes! Without further ado, he's your chapter :)**

* * *

"Let me _out_!"

Tiny hands wrapped around the iron bars of his cell, there was a feral look in the young boy's onyx eyes as he bared his still-undeveloped fangs at his guard. He roared in frustration and desperation, he had to mentally kick himself to keep in the tears that threatened to spill over.

Igneel had left him nearly a month ago. If living on his own hadn't been hard enough, look at the wonderful mess Natsu had gotten himself into now. After wiping the floor with that asshole Salamander guy, he'd immediately been cuffed with some sort of magic-canceling bracelets. Right after that little scene, he'd been blindfolded and was promptly dumped in this sorry excuse for a jail cell.

"I said, let me out of here Ice-ass!" The boy behind the bars growled once again as his Ice-mage guard, a boy no older then himself, shot him a pointed look, "No can do flame-brian. You should know the use of dragon slaying magic has been outlawed in Fiore for, like, ten years now, it's your own damn fault for being an idiot and learning it."

"Like Hell I knew it was outlawed! I was taught by a dragon you dumbass! I've lived in the the woods all my life!" The boy shook the bars of his iron cage for emphases as he practically screamed at his guard, who in turn only pointed a finger at him accusingly, "Again, ten years firebutt, your dumb dragon probably knew it was outlawed and taught it to you anyways!"

"IGNEEL IS NOT DUMB!" The boy screeched, thrashing full force against the iron bars, "Ten years my ass! I bet you can't even count to ten!" Nastu seethed, eyes narrowed in anger.

"Can too!" His guard jumped up at the accusation, waving two wide spread hands in front of his prisoner's bars, "See? Ten fingers! If anyone here can't count to ten it's you! I bet that stupid dragon didn't even teach you to read much less count!"

"I CAN TOO! IGNEEL TAUGHT ME ALL THAT STUFF YOU STUPID ICE PRINCESS!" Natsu roared so loudly that his guard had to take a step back from his cage, but he quickly regained himself as he stomped up to the young dragon slayer,

"DAMNIT FOR _THE LAST_ TIME FLAMEBRAIN, IT'S **GRAY** NOT **_ICE PRINCESS_**!" Gray screeched right back. By now both boys were out of breath and practically touching foreheads through the bars of the cell. Natsu was visibly shaking in rage and anxiety, and he knew he couldn't keep his tears back for much longer.

"Whatever Ice-ass." He mumbled as Gray opened his mouth to throw out another insult, but before the words could leave his mouth, Natsu turned on his heal and stalked towards the cot that stood in the far corner of his cell. As he approached the makeshift bed, he noticed that it came complete with a neatly folded sheet and even a pillow. He snorted at the irony of bothering to fold a prisoner's sheet and threw himself onto the mat in an undignified mess.

He shook out the sheet and quickly pulled it over his head before curling up helplessly underneath. He wrapped his tiny arms around himself and winced as the magic-sealing cuffs around his wrists dug into his sides. He squeezed his eyes shut and mentally scolded himself as a single tear found it's way across his cheek.

* * *

While the Ice Mage and his prisoner had screeched out insults at one another, two men stood watching from the shadows. They stood out of sight from the two mages, a large stone wall keeping them hidden from view.

"Is it really a good idea to have a child guarding that dragon boy?" The adviser, a man known as Lain, spoke quietly over the rim of his glasses. The other man did not take his eyes off the pink-haired mage as he spoke, his voice hard and professional,

"Having the young boy as his guard will keep his anxiety down, he may become more willing to spill information." The man finally tore his eyes from the boy and glanced down at his adviser,

"Besides, we have no other guards to spare. The magic-sealing shackles keep the boy's magic under control, and even if he were to somehow persuade the ice-mage to let him out, I'm the only one with a key to his cell." He patted his side lightly and the keys under his robes made a soft jingling sound at the motion. His adviser glanced back at the boys, who seamed to have stopped bickering as the dragon slayer retreated into the back of the cell.

Just then footsteps echoed down the staircase and approached the two men. A maid dressed in a traditional black dress and apron gave a low bow to the two before speaking up, "Your Majesty, your daughter requests your presence. She says you have agreed to dinner with her tonight."

The King sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. What a troublesome daughter he had. Could she not be entertained by the maids or go read in the library? He had far to much work to do already without having to entertain the Princess as well, "Tell her that I've had a meeting come up." The King waved absently at his maid, "Inform her we shall have dinner another night."

The adviser caught the look of sadness that flashed through the maid's eyes as she curtsied and retreated back up the staircase. Lain could understand where she was coming from, a similar prick of sorrow found it's way into his own heart. He knew the King had no such meeting 'come up', he simply did not prioritize spending time with his only daughter over getting some sort of work done.

_It's really too bad_, the adviser thought to himself as he and the King made their way back up the narrow staircase, _Lucy really is such a sweet girl_.

* * *

**Whaaat? Maybe we'll finally get to meet the other main character? I sure hope so, Natsu sure could use a friend right about now.**

**Thank you again for continuing to follow my story!**

**Reviews make my world shine~**


	3. Like Starlight and Fairy Dust

Natsu's stomach groaned loudly from his spot underneath the covers. Where the hell was that stupid Ice boy when he need him? At least he could've probably convinced the dumbass to give him some food, but no. The damn slacker was no where in sight.

His stomach gave another hollow rumble as he twisted uncomfortably on the stiff mattress. He sighed and shoved his bed sheet to the floor, leaving himself exposed and staring at the ceiling.

It had been hours since his battle with the guy who called himself 'Salamander'. Hours since he'd been locked in this god forsaken cell. And most importantly, hours since his last meal. His stomach growled again and he rubbed his exposed stomach in an attempt to sooth his hunger. Sure, fire tasted great and it was pretty filling for a while, but it had nothing on real, solid food. He decided to try and distract himself by taking note of his surroundings.

The cell was actually pretty spacious, not that Natsu could bring himself to be grateful for all the access space. Big or small, a cage was a cage. The young fire mage let his eyes drift across the ceiling, craning his neck to see the other side of the room. It wasn't much different. Cold stone walls, cold stone floors, blah blah blah it was all the same. Natsu was about to close his eyes again when he noticed a stream of light on the far wall of the cell. He sat up and eyed the patch of light, trailing it with his eyes to it's source.

The young boy pushed himself off his cot and made his way to the side of the room were the light flickered. He walked along the beams the light cast on the stone floor until finally he reached the other wall. Natsu glanced up, and his eyes widened. In front of him was a window.

Ok, well, not quite a window, but close enough. It was a medium sized opening cut out of the side of the stone wall. Thick iron bars ran vertically across the opening, the gaps between them barley big enough to fit a hand through. However, what really caught Natsu's attention was what was behind the iron bars. Beyond them, Natsu took in the what seamed to be a garden. A soft evening breeze hit his face and the scents of various types of wildflowers across his nose.

He took in a deep breath of the fresh air, relishing the fact that these stupid magic canceling cuffs or whatever they were called hadn't hindered his stellar sense of smell. He realized that his cell must be at least halfway underground, since the window was a good four and a half feet off the floor, yet level with the ground outside. He stretched out a small hand and to his delight, managed to fit it through the gaps between the bars.

He waved a hand through the velvety grass that grew tall in front the his window and managed a smile. Man it felt good to touch the earth again. He'd been raised in the forest after all, and all this cold stone and metal was foreign and overall uncomfortable to the small fire mage. He let out a sigh and wished he could sprawl out in the tall grass like he used to with Igneel. Natsu's smile faltered and he retracted his hand back behind the bars.

Oh that's right. Igneel. _What the actual __**heck**__, Dad?!_ Natsu bit his lip and desperately tried to keep in more tears that had begun to glass his eyes, _Were you planning on telling me the magic you taught me was outlawed?_ The young dragon slayer thought bitterly, _Not that I really care, I would have learned it anyways, but you could have warned me damnit!_ Natsu could feel a stream of tears burn against his cheek, _Damnit Natsu, dragons don't cry! Pull yourself together! What would Igneel think if he saw you now?!_

The young boy slapped his still chubby checks with the palms of his hands a few times, but the tears still refused to stop flowing. Natsu growled at himself and gave himself a few more cheek slaps, to no avail. Finally with a hitched sigh he gave in and just let the tears fall. He rested his tiny arms on the sill of the window and laid his head in on top of them. He tried to keep his sobs as quiet as he could, in case that damned ice mage happened to reappear, but it seamed every time he breathed in he made some sort of undignified choking sound.

He buried his face further into his arms and cried. He didn't even care if someone heard him anymore, it's not like it could get any worse, right? Igneel was gone, his magic was useless, and he was locked in a freaking cage. What was a blow to his pride at this point?

Suddenly something changed. The light breeze that was blowing through the iron bars suddenly disappeared. Natsu's head shot up, only to find that the sunlight from earlier had also faded. At first he panicked. What was happening? Why did the light disappear? His mind franticly rattled off questions until something unfamiliar drifted across his nose. It was unlike anything he'd ever encountered before, wild and… magical. What kind of person gave off this kind of scent?

Everything seamed to stand still as he locked eyes with what was blocking the breeze.

She was crouched down outside his cell, hands wrapped carefully around her delicate knees. The girl peered at him with wide, fawn-colored eyes from behind the small, iron-barred window that had allowed him a glimpse of the outside world. The breeze, the light, and now, the strange little girl who's intoxicating scent was that of something he'd never encountered before.

She smelled like starlight and fairy dust.

Natsu knew he had never really smelled either of those things before, but that was definitely the scent. He'd never been more sure of anything in his entire life.

The little girl flashed him a brilliant smile and lifted a hand from her knee in a wave,

"Hi, I'm Lucy, why are you crying?"

Natsu was a bit taken aback at her words. He'd completely forgotten that he'd been crying only moments earlier. Actually, he'd forgotten pretty much everything as he daydreamed about this girl's weird scent. Gee talk about embarrassing… The young fire mage thought as he pulled himself back together,

"You've been crying too, haven't you?" He answered, silently cursing the slight hitch in his voice. While his mind been off in La La Land, his nose hadn't failed to pick up the slight traces of saltine that hung around the small girl. Said girl puffed out her flushed cheeks in a huff and plopped herself to the ground, legs now crossed pretzel style. She crossed her arms in a similar manor.  
"I asked you first." She said, her face donning a stubborn pout as she locked eyes with the young dragon slayer.

Unfortunately for her, the young fire mage was equally as stubborn, "Not telling." He said with a huff as he broke the young girl's gaze, " 's not really important anyways.." he trailed off, a hint of sadness in his voice. Lucy balked at him, suddenly uncrossing her arms and shoving her tiny hands through the gaps in the iron bars. Natsu jumped as he felt her fair hands land on his own, her skin strangely cool against his own. The young fire mage whipped his onyx eyes back to the girl's earthy brown ones, only to find they were oddly serious.  
"Of course it's important! If a friend is crying it's always important." Lucy closed her eyes and nodded hurriedly at her own words. Natsu just stared. Could this girl even get any weirder?

"Wha? We're friends? You don't even know my name!" The dragon slayer replied, still shocked that this girl had already deemed him her friend. The little blond just rolled her eyes,  
"Duh, we're friends dummy. You look sad and lonely, and I'm sad and lonely, so we're friends!" She smiled at her own logic, and Natsu couldn't help but smile a little too. "And I do too know your name! It's…uhh… um, Pinky?" She guessed, obviously having no idea whatsoever what the young dragonslayer's name was.

Natsu let out a little 'pft' of laughter at her outrageous guess, "What?! No way!" She smiled, "Rosey then?" Natsu's eyes twinkled playfully, "Nuh uh" "Rubyey?" Natsu let out a laugh, "Why do you just keep adding "-ey" to shades of pink weirdo?" The girl removed her hands from Natsu's arms -much to his dismay- and placed a finger to her lips thoughtfully. Suddenly she pointed a finger at his head, "Your hair." She nodded, satisfied with her answer.

"Whaat? My hair is totally not pink! It's Salmon!" Lucy broke down in a fit of giggles, "So.. it's Salmony then?" Natsu rolled his eyes at the giggling blonde haired girl, "No you weirdo, my name's Natsu! Na-tsu" He said, sounding it out slowly. Then he brought up a hand and started ticking down fingers, "Not Rosey or Rubyey or Salmoney and especially not _Pinky_!"

Lucy broke out in giggles again, and Natsu smiled at the blonde's bubbly attitude. She wiped a tear of laughter out of her eye and smiled down at the young fire mage, "Well then _Natsu_, you don't really have to tell me why you were crying if ya don't want too, I just didn't want you to be sad." At her words, Natsu was shocked to realize that he really _wasn't_ sad anymore. Here he was, laughing and grinning with this strange little girl who, after knowing him for a total of three and a half seconds, had deemed him her friend.

Lucy looked down and began to stand, "Well I guess I should go now then.." "**Wait**!" Natsu grabbed her wrist in a panic, desperate not to be left alone again, "I'll tell you!" He blurted out, "But, uh, only if you tell me why you were crying too!" He added quickly I hopes of not looking like a total dweeb. Lucy's smile was so wide though, it was totally worth it. Even if it did make his heart do a weird flippy thing inside his chest.

Lucy plopped down to the ground once again, but this time she was lying flat on her stomach, her legs kicking the air behind her while she propped her face in her hands. Her big brown eyes gazed happily at the young boy, and Natsu finally realized she was waiting for him to speak. "Uh, well, if I tell you this, you've gotta promise to believe me ok? And no laughing!" Lucy's eyes widened in seriousness and shook her her vigorously in agreement.

Natsu bit his lip skeptically, "Promise that you won't laugh?" Lucy smiled and lifted her hand towards the fire mage, extending her pinky through the bars of the cell, "I promise," She said, her voice suddenly serious, "And I know _never_ to break a promise." Natsu grinned at the young blonde and curled his pinky around her own, "Ok, I believe you." He dropped her pinky and folded his arms on the windowsill. " Well, first, I should probably let you know I'm a mage." He said proudly, glancing up at the wide-eyed girl, "Really!? Me too! What kind of magic do you know?" Lucy said excitedly. Natsu's grin wavered and the blonde girl quieted down at the look on his face, "Well," He started, "That kinda has to do with why I was upset, you see…" He took a deep breath. For some reason, he knew he could trust this girl.

"I'm a dragon slayer."

Lucy's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates, "You're a dragon slayer?" She whispered, her voice filled with awe. Natsu hadn't really known what kind of reaction he'd get from the girl, but 'awe' sure wasn't on his top ten list of guesses. "You're not scared of me now?" Natsu asked in wonder. Lucy balked at him, "Scared? Why would I be scared, silly, you're my friend, remember?" "But it's outlawed!" Natsu reminded her, at this Lucy only shrugged. "So? 's not like that makes you any less my friend." Natsu couldn't help but smile at her pure words, and quickly decided to continue his story before he could ruin the moment.

He told her all about how he'd gotten lost in the city, gotten bread from that nice old lady, and how he beat the crap out of a mage known as 'Salamander'. As he recounted the battle to her she listened intently, eyes practically glazed over in wonder. As he got to the end and described with joy how ridiculous the so-called 'fire' mage had looked burned to a crisp, Lucy roared in laughter. At this point she was on her side clutching her stomach, tears in her eyes from the fit of giggles his story had brought on. As she managed to return herself to and upright position, she glance at her pink-haired friend curiously, "So after you clobbered that guy, what happened? Up until now nothin' happened that would make you cry, right?"

Natsu let out a sigh, "Well, right after that you see, I kinda got caught, and some weird guys in cloaks put these on me," He held up his hand so Lucy could see his wrists, she touched them sadly through the bars of the cell, "What are they?" She whispered, pulling her hand away. She didn't like the weird vibe they gave off.

"They're magic-sealing cuffs, I think." The fire mage said, twisting the cuffs on his wrists, "They make it so I can't use my magic.." he trailed off sadly. Lucy bit her lip, she didn't want her new friend to be sad again, "I'm sorry," She said sadly, and she snaked her hands through the iron bars and wrapped her delicate hands around one of Natsu's wrists, covering the cuff encircling it. Natsu panicked a bit, Lucy looked like she was going to cry, and that was about the last thing he wanted to see right now. He brought his free hand up and lightly touched the young blonde's hands, he looked up at her sad eyes and flashed her a smile, "It's ok! Really, I promise!" The young blonde flashed him a smile back and Natsu continued his tale,

"So after I was cuffed, they blindfolded me and brought me here," Natsu nodded his head behind him, gesturing to the rest of the cell, "All because I was taught my magic by a dragon." He added bitterly. Lucy gasped and threw her hands to her mouth in surprise, "You mean you've seen a dragon!? A real one? That's amazing!" Natsu stared at the girl, at a loss for words for what seamed like the hundredth time that day. Usually nobody really believed him when he said anything about having met a dragon, yet this girl just stared at him excitedly, eagerly awaiting the details of the story, not a hint of doubt in her clear brown eyes.

Natsu smiled excitedly at the blonde, "Heck yeah I've seen a dragon! My dad's a dragon! His name's Igneel, he's the one who raised me and taught me my magic." Natsu stuck out his chest proudly, a wide grin plastered on his face. Lucy was practically bubbling at the thought of it. A dragon! A real dragon! Her friend had a real dragon as a dad! "Natsu that's so cool! Your dad sure sounds a lot better then my dad…" Lucy trailed off, the excitement in her eyes slowly dying. Natsu looked up at his new friend in worry, "Hey.. is your dad the reason you were crying earlier?" he asked, concern in his voice. Lucy shifted a bit, letting out a sigh as she did so, "Well, the truth is I'm actually the…"

"**MISSTRESS LUUUUCCYY, WHERE AARE YOUUU?**"

A voice suddenly cut the young girl off, and Lucy froze in horror. She frantically whipped her head to the sky, only to find it was several shades darker then it had been when she first arrived. She let out a gasp, "Ohhh I am sooo dead.." Lucy groaned, pulling at her face with her hands, Natsu looked up at her, a confused look crossing his features, "What's going on?" He asked with a tilt of his head.

Lucy glanced back at her new friend and opened her mouth to speak,

"**LUCY HEARTFILIA! I KNOW YOU CAN HEAR ME YOUNG LADY! YOU COME OUT FROM WHEREVER YOU'RE HIDING RIGHT THIS INSTANT!**"

Lucy let out a squeak, "Oh man Ms. Spetto sounds reeally mad, I've been out far longer then I was supposed to be.." She glanced back at Natsu and gave a small smile, "I have to go now, if I'm seen here it probably won't be good.." The young blonde bit her lip and began to stand, and for the second time that day Natsu grabbed her wrist in a panic, "Wait!" Lucy turned her head back to look at the young boy, and from the look in her eyes Natsu knew she really couldn't stay any longer,

"Will you come back tomorrow? I um.. you, uh.." Natsu racked his brain for a reason less lame then 'It's lonely and I want to see you again', "…still have to tell me why you were crying!" He finished, letting at a mental sigh of relief. The young blonde smiled down at the fire mage, "I will!" she said cheerfully. She quickly bent down and stuck out her pinky for the young boy, "Promise!" Natsu grinned from ear to ear as he wrapped his pinky around her own for the second time that day, "Promise." He repeated. Lucy's smile widened, "And I never break my promises."

As the young blonde girl turned and scampered off into the fading daylight, one thing pricked at the back of Natsu's mind. Something that the woman yelling for Lucy earlier said... sounded strangely familiar, he noticed.

"Hearfilia, huh? Now where have I heard that before..."

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**And there she is! MC #2 in all of her cute, fluffy, blonde glory~ Aren't you glad Natsu's not depressed anymore? I sure am, depressed and Natsu don't really go together that well in my opinion..**

**So it only goes uphill from here! I suspect Natsu's not going to be lonely for much longer**

**Thank you so much to those of you who are continuing to review my story! I really appreciate it! Like wow! Someone read the words that I wrote and thought it was worth the time to comment on.. I'm really grateful!**

**I really hope you continue to read my little tale and that you've been enjoying it so far!**

**Reviews make my world dance~**


	4. Pride & PJs

**Wah-What is this? could it be? An update? After like what, two weeks?! Yes, it's an update all right! I'm so sorry for taking forever to get this to you guys! I'd like to tell you it's because life gave me a nice smack upside the head, but truthfully it's because I'm working on a reaaaally long one-shot. Look forward to that, I think it's pretty cute! Lots of cereal and awkward situations and Natsu burning things down. **

**Anyways, without further ado, your chapter~**

* * *

"Heartfilia, huh? Now where have I heard that before…"

The young dragonslayer let his thoughts trail off as he racked his brain for an answer, "A type of food? Nah. Hmmm.. a town? No.. a fighting move? Urrg that's not it either!" Natsu closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Igneel had always said that memories never really disappear, some just take longer to remember then others, "Right… well, Igneel also said that I 'wasn't one for patience', so if I can't remember it must not be that important." The fire mage shrugged off his lingering suspicions as he realized there were footsteps coming from the corridor.

Natsu whipped his head to the iron bars of his cell just in time to see his _favorite_ ice mage striding towards him, a metal tray in hand, "Well it's about damn time you got here Icecube," The dragonslayer taunted as he made his way towards the young mage, "I thought you might have gotten lost or something knowing y-" the young fire mage stopped mid-sentence as he stared blankly at his guard, totally at a loss for words. Gray smirked, "What is it flame brain? Finally in awe of how much more awesome I am then you?"

At this, Natsu blinked once finally snapped out of his trance. The dragonslayer crumpled to the floor in a room-shaking roar of laughter, pointing a finger at his guard in disbelief, "Wh-where the hell are your p-pants?!" The fire mage managed to choke out, gasping for breath between his fits of laughter. The young ice mage suddenly turned a several shades of pink, "Dammit not again!" he yelled at himself crossly. This only sent Natsu into another raging fit of giggles

"So this is a habit of yours then?" The fire mage grinned mockingly as he pulled himself off the floor, crossing his arms smugly over his chest. The young guard stuttered for a moment before glaring poisonously at his prisoner, "Like hell it is! It's a _condition_ retard!" At his insult, Natsu brought his face against the gaps in the iron bars, "What didya call me Ice Princess?" Gray shoved his forehead against his rivals in challenge, both of their eyes glaring dangerously at one another. One could practically see the bolts of electricity that sparked between their eyes, "I said you're a _retard_, lizard breath. Did you catch that or do I need to repeat it again _flamebrain_?

Natsu began to growl threateningly at the young ice mage, but as fate my have it, his resolve only held out for so long. In a matter of seconds, the dragonslayer was on the floor in another howling fit of laughter, "Gahahahah! There's no way! No way in hell can I take you seriously when you're -pffft- standing there in your _underwear_!" Natsu held his chest as he gasped for breath between fits of laughter. Gray's eye twitched impatiently as his tolerance finally snapped, "_Fine_, dragon breath, laugh all you want, I just won't give you any dinner!"

At this Natsu sobered up rather quickly. He'd been so busy laughing, he had somehow missed the overwhelming aroma of food that came from the silver tray his guard was carrying. The dragonslayer's eyes widened as he gripped the iron bars of his cage, practically drooling at the thought, "Food! Food Food Food! Yes! Gimme!" He chanted, impatiently waiting for the ice mage to slip him the silver tray. Instead, however, Gray grinned evilly and held the tray further away from the cell bars.

"Not so fast flamebrian! No dinner for you unless.." He thought for a moment, then glared victoriously at his prisoner, "Unless you say 'I'm sorry master Gray, I'm an inferior idiot, please give me my dinner.' "

Now, Natsu Dragneel, son of the great and mighty dragon Igneel, was taught that pride was all that a man had. And for a six-year-old, the cocky kid sure did have a lot of it. However, as the story goes, Natsu Dragneel is not a 'man'. No, Natsu is a dragon. And dragons value one thing above all others:

Food.

The dragonslayer cleared his throat dramatically, "Ahem. 'I'm sorry master Gray, I'm an inferior idiot, please give me my dinner.' " Grey just blinked as he stared at the fire mage in absolute shock, the dragonslayer smirking back at him victoriously, "Food. Now." He stuck a hand through the iron bars of his cage and made a wiggling gester with his fingers. The ice mage, still in shock that his prisoner had actually done what he said, shoved the silver tray through the food door and watched as the fire mage snarfed down whatever Chef had whipped up.

_What the heck is with this kid? He sure is weird… _Gray thought skeptically as Natsu continued to inhale his food. The ice mage was almost positive the dragonslayer was going to devour the tray itself in his eagerness to chow down, but just as the boy shoved the last bite of bread in his mouth, he fell back on the floor.

"Man that was _great_!" He chimed, totally satisfied. He rubbed his exposed stomach contently as he grinned ear to ear, "For a prison the food here is actually pretty awesome, I mean, it woulda been better if I had my magic to roast that bread some more, but still not bad." Natsu glanced at his prison guard, who was still staring wordlessly at the other young mage "You got something to say Iceblock?" He rumbled as Gray snapped back to life,

"Like Hell I've got anything to say to _you_ Lizzard Breath! Don't you know you're supposed to like, _breathe _as you eat? Were you raised by wolves or something?" Natsu sat up and gave an I-know-you're-an-idiot-but-really? sort of look at the ice mage, "Noooo," he said, dragging out the word, "I was raised by a _dragon_ dumbass, were you even listening?"

Gray folded his arms and rolled his eyes, "And why the hell should I be listening to _you, _flame-brain? At least I didn't get _my_ dumb ass thrown in jail." Natsu's eye twitched and the Ice mage grinned victoriously, hitting a sore spot. "Whaddya say ya damn ice ass? The cold finally freeze your brain over?" The dragonslayer spat as the two resumed their -literal- head-to-head verbal assault, "What the hell's with your attitude Pinky?" Gray seethed at the fire mage, "You're like, what? Four? And you curse like a damn sailor!"

Electricity sparked dangerously between the boys' eyes as Natsu gave an angered growl, "First off Droopy Eyes, it's _Natsu_, not _Pinky. _Secondly, I'm _six_ not four dammit!" The dragonslayer hissed at the ice mage, "And who's cursing like a sailor? You ain't much better ya damn stripper!" "I TOLD YOU IT'S A _CONDITION_ DAMNIT!" Gray yelled as Natsu began to burst out in a fit of giggles again, unable to contain himself.

At this Gray finally threw his hands up in exhaustion, "Idiots!" He huffed irritatedly as he turned and stalked away from the pink haired boy, who was still howling in laughter on the cell floor.

"Now…. where the heck _did_ I leave my pants?"

* * *

Lucy flopped dramatically onto her bed, her face buried into one of her millions of pillows. The young blonde let out a massive groan into the depths her pillow, thoroughly exhausted and emotionally defeated from the day's events. Why did he always have to do this? Didn't he love her at all? Heck, did he even like her? Lucy brought her face out of the pillow and flipped herself so she could stare blankly at the ceiling. Sure, she knew her dad was busy, he was the flippin' King of Fiore after all! _But did he really have to make up a meeting just to get out of having dinner with me..? _The blonde thought sadly, obviously having seen through the lie.

Before she could sink any further into her thoughts, Lucy heard footsteps echo through the corridor, followed by a soft knock on the door, "Miss Lucy? I'm coming in," A voice chimed as the knob on the door twisted sideways. The door swung open as a middle aged woman stepped into room, "Ms. Spetto.." the blonde called as the dark-haired woman closed the door behind her.

The older maid shook her head disapprovingly and made a small 'Tsk' sound as her eyes fell on the young princess, "Miss Lucy! Look at you, you're all dirty, and you aren't even in bedclothes yet!" Ms. Spetto chastised as she made her way over to the young blonde, "Come on now," she cooed as Lucy turned to look at her maid, "If you get ready now, I'll read you story~" she sung, practically dangling the bride above the girl's head.

Lucy shot out of bed, her eyes sparkling, "Really? You will?" The dark-haired maid nodded, smiling at the child's bubbling enthusiasm, "Oh Ms. Spetto you're the best!" The little girl grinned as she threw her arms around the maid in glee. The older woman patted the young girl's back encouragingly, she of all people knew that the princess was still trying to adjust to her father's…. treatment. _And her mother on top of that…_

"I'll go get ready now~" Lucy chirped as she removed herself from the embrace and hopped off her bed. Ms. Spetto watched as the little blonde eagerly scampered across the room and threw open her closet doors. Lucy bolted inside and momentarily disappeared from sight before reemerging from the walk-in closet, now fully clad in a silky nightgown. The blonde began to make her way towards the bed again but stopped after a look from her maid,

"Teeth, Miss Lucy." The little girl huffed in response and hurried into her bathroom, where the water ran for a good 0.3 seconds before the young blonde scurried out once more, "Okdone" she let out all in one breath as she hurried towards her bed, only to be stopped again,

"Hair, Miss Lucy." "Uggg" Lucy ran to her dresser and snatched the brush of the table, impatiently ripping the bristles through her golden hair. As soon as she had started she finished, tossing the brush back onto the table and scurrying over to the older maid,

"Ok, done!"

Ms. Spetto let out a soft chuckle at the way the child's hair still stood up wildly in random places, but decided to let the impatient princess off the hook for tonight, "Alright Miss Lucy, which story do you want me to read?"

By now the little girl had already hopped back on her bed and proceeded to shimmy under the satin covers, tossing off pillows that got in the way, "The usual," She chirped as she chucked a particularly fluffy pink pillow to the floor. Ms. Spetto eyed the young girl, "Are you sure? We always read that one, wouldn't you like to try reading something else?" Lucy shook her head in refusal, "Nope, I wanna read that one," the blonde smiled brilliantly at her maid, who smiled back softly as she rose to retrieve the desired book.

She returned a few moments later, a thin, leather-bound book in her hands. The dark-haired maid smiled as she sat on the edge of the bed, Lucy peeking excitedly at her from under the covers. The book was small and simple, as one would expect. There was no detailed drawing or caption on it's cover, only large, swooping golden letters that spelled the book's title against the soft brown leather of the book's binding. Ms. Spetto flipped the book open to it's first page and traced a finger over the letters as she began,

"The Princess and the Dragon, by Layla Heartfilia"

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**Please don't shoot me for cutting it off here, although the urge is understandable after the eternity it took me to update this dang thing ;^;**

**In all honesty I really wanted to include the story in this chapter, but when I sat down to write it I realized I had no idea how I wanted to write the story, and since it's a nice big chunk of plot line, I decided it would be better to think it out a little more before tossing it out there for you guys.**

**I'd love to tell you that the story will be in the next chapter, but I can't guarantee it.. I actually think I'm going to have Lucy read it to Natsu, wouldn't that be cute? Don't lie yes it would~ Tell me in your reviews! Should I give you the story early or have Lucy read it to a certain pink-haired dragon slayer? I'll leave that up to you.**

**Thank you once again for continuing to read and review my little tale! I'm sooo glad you guys are enjoying it so far! Bare with me on the slow start, I promise it get's loads more interesting! **

**Reviews make my world go doki~**


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